vaccinating my 5yo while I'm pregnant? « Back to Group Discussions

[3surfboys]

My 5yo recently registered for Kindergarten and the plan was that he would get his last 2 vaccinations (varicella and MMR) at the end of August, well after I have given birth and before school starts in September. Those vaccines are "live" so I just didn't want to risk any break-through diseases in the house while I'm pregnant.  Well, I really want him to attend the summer Kindergarten readiness class which is from July 9 to August 9 and the school official said he has to be fully vaccinated to attend the program.   Since my due date is June 30 and I have given birth at 41 weeks the last 2 times (which means July 7), I'm just not comfortable vaxing him that soon after the birth.   Maybe I'm worrying over nothing, I don't know.  What do you all think?

PS: the school said my pediatrician could write a letter - but I'm not sure he would agree with my concern.  I'm planning to talk to him this week.

[bodhicitta3]

This is my personal opinion and experience: we are vaccinating our 5 yo on a delayed schedule and have done varicella and dpt. recently and I gave had no ill effects. Just go with your gut.

[tinams8]

I'd go with the plan to ask the ped to write a note. It shouldn't be a big deal for him/her or the school.  Knowing he has an appointment in August should be enough.  If that didn't work for some reason it would probably be fine anyway.

[BroodyWoodsgal]

We are 100% vax free over here...but even if I weren't and I DID vax my kids, there is nothing you could say to me, to make me feel okay about giving those vax specifically during pregnancy or with a very little newborn in the house. Just MHO!

I'm sure that whatever you decide to do, it will end up fine, you know? There is just something that feels really "ahhh!" about doing that...but I'm sure the actual risks are pretty much nil.

Having your son in day camp this summer really sounds like it would be **so** perfect, though! He would have a place to be wild and loud and do his own, non baby-centric stuff..while you would have peaceful, one-on-one time with new baby! YAY! GL

[KristaDJ]

Does your state allow any vaccine exemptions besides medical? They would only need a doctor's note if a medical exemption is required but if you are allowed a philosophical exemption you can write the note yourself. If it is a public program they can not deny children admittance because they are not vaccinated (if they have proper exemption).

I do not vaccinate but if I did that situation would scare me as well. Live virus vaccines often cause a mild case of the disease they are given to prevent and they CAN easily spread to others. People with HIV or going through chemotherapy are told to avoid recently vaccinated children for this very reason; there is no way a newborn should be in a home with someone carrying those viruses. 
If you do actually have to get a note from the doctor I would search for one who will give it. 

Edited by KristaDJ - 4/22/12 at 7:09pm

[Nicole730]

Well dang, always learning something new.  My daughter got an MMR at her 2 year check up and I was pregnant at the time.  Fortunately, everything went fine.  My son is due for a few shots too at his 4 year check up, which should have been last week...  I am going to get my children fully vaccinated, I think I would rather have my son get the vaccinations while I was still pregnant, than with a newborn around.  Maybe, in my thinking, my vaccinated body will protect a fetus better than it will protect a newborn through breastmilk.

[KristaDJ]

IMO it is definitely better to do it while you are pregnant than after the baby is born. If you are receiving prenatal care you have almost definitely had your antibody titers checked for the diseases that are harmful to the fetus so exposure to them should not hurt the baby. If you haven't had them checked it would be a good idea to do it before having him vax'd unless you have kept up with booster shots for yourself or had the diseases as a child because vaccines do not provide lifelong immunity. 

[LionessMom]

i am planning on getting my 5yr old DD1 exposed to chicken pox here in the next week or so. so she wont need the vax. i would do that while pregnant. but i dont know about the mmr. your titers would have been checked for rubella. so that shouldnt be an issue. but i am not sure about how the other 2 would go. just not something i asked about yet. 

[alicewyf]

My daughter is fully vaxed at this point (we do a delayed schedule, but it is more rigorous than Dr. Sears'), we also do the flu vax, and I still would not (and have not) vax her while pregnant or with a new baby. I've read too much about virus shedding. I am pretty sure MMR is one of the ones that sheds. I could be wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me if I am. I would get the pediatrician letter and then vax your son when you're ready. The chances of him getting sick from school from those viruses is pretty minimal these days since most of his classmates will be vaxed.

[BroodyWoodsgal]

Yeah if I had to choose between during PG and with a NB in the house, I would DEFINITELY go with during pregnancy!

[3surfboys]

Hmm, it didn't occur to me that it would be riskier to vax ds after the baby was born - I'm going to ask my midwife her opinion at my appt on Wednesday, and then I see our pediatrician on Friday - so I'll let you know what the decision is after that.

Thanks ladies!

[KTinSeattle]

Yikes -- to the lady who is going to get her kid infected with chx pox while you're pregnant, that sounds like a really bad idea.  Chicken pox is a nasty teratogen and can have some bad effects on the fetus.  Even if you've had it before, the whole "you only get chicken pox once!" thing is not 100% true; in some people the immunity wanes and you can get it again (similar to how most vaccines don't last forever).  To the other folks who are concerned about their children getting live vaccines while you're pregnant, even if they do have the rare side effect of a mild case of the disease, vaccine-induced disease is not infectious.  MMR and varicella vaccines are not recommended in pregnant women because of a theoretical risk of effects on the fetus, but in reality those effects have not been seen, so even if you accidentally fell on the needle while your child was getting his vaccine your baby is fine.  

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00053391.htm

[LionessMom]

i was going to get my kid chicken pox but that was if i could do it a week or so ago. it seems the child in question has not shown any symptoms and it is getting too close to the end of the pregnancy for me to do it now. it takes 2 weeks to get blisters and at leas 2 weeks to get rid of them and a week after that to not be contagious. i have had chicken pox already. i would not get it again and my baby is receiving my antibodies in utero. but after birth he could still get it. so we will now have to wait a couple more years till baby is older. the only teratogen effects are within the first 20 weeks for women who have not been exposed previously. getting it for real does provide longer protection than a vaccine does. and live vaccines do shed and can be caught and passed around. like the story going around on facebook about the woman whose newborn died from pertussis and she thinks everyone should get vaxed for it.... they gave her the vax when she was leaving the hosp with the baby and that is how she caught it. i dont buy anything put out by any government agency. i need more than one reputable source. we all know the government (pr those running it) makes money off vaccines. 

[iowaorganic]

When I was about 34 weeks with DS2 my other kids caught chicken pox.  It was kind of scary at the time- it ended up fine though.  I had my titers checked and the kids were over it long before I delivered at 41 weeks.  We don't Vax anymore- but even if we did- I can't imagine a dr would even do it this late in your pregnancy!  I could imagine having them both done on your new childs schedule though....  That seems reasonable to me- if you are planning on getting everyone done anyway- and if you per knows I would think a note would be just fine.  I mean they work for you right?  It is in their best interest to keep you happy and coming back I would think (not that we have experience with this).

[BroodyWoodsgal]

Originally Posted by LionessMom 

i was going to get my kid chicken pox but that was if i could do it a week or so ago. it seems the child in question has not shown any symptoms and it is getting too close to the end of the pregnancy for me to do it now. it takes 2 weeks to get blisters and at leas 2 weeks to get rid of them and a week after that to not be contagious. i have had chicken pox already. i would not get it again and my baby is receiving my antibodies in utero. but after birth he could still get it. so we will now have to wait a couple more years till baby is older. the only teratogen effects are within the first 20 weeks for women who have not been exposed previously. getting it for real does provide longer protection than a vaccine does. and live vaccines do shed and can be caught and passed around. like the story going around on facebook about the woman whose newborn died from pertussis and she thinks everyone should get vaxed for it.... they gave her the vax when she was leaving the hosp with the baby and that is how she caught it. i dont buy anything put out by any government agency. i need more than one reputable source. we all know the government (pr those running it) makes money off vaccines. 

^Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing!

Yeah, pretty much everything LionessMom said. :)

[KristaDJ]

Originally Posted by LionessMom 

i was going to get my kid chicken pox but that was if i could do it a week or so ago. it seems the child in question has not shown any symptoms and it is getting too close to the end of the pregnancy for me to do it now. it takes 2 weeks to get blisters and at leas 2 weeks to get rid of them and a week after that to not be contagious. i have had chicken pox already. i would not get it again and my baby is receiving my antibodies in utero. but after birth he could still get it. so we will now have to wait a couple more years till baby is older. the only teratogen effects are within the first 20 weeks for women who have not been exposed previously. getting it for real does provide longer protection than a vaccine does. and live vaccines do shed and can be caught and passed around. like the story going around on facebook about the woman whose newborn died from pertussis and she thinks everyone should get vaxed for it.... they gave her the vax when she was leaving the hosp with the baby and that is how she caught it. i dont buy anything put out by any government agency. i need more than one reputable source. we all know the government (pr those running it) makes money off vaccines. 

[LionessMom]

if i knew i wasnt going to deliver until 41 weeks then i would still do it now. but my last baby came at 38.5 weeks. that is only 6 weeks. 2 weeks to show symptoms and up to a month to get rid of the blisters. that is cutting it too close for me. i will just wait. i didnt get chicken pox until i was 8 and DD1 is only 5 so it isnt a big deal to me that she wait. 

i quit vaxing my children anyway. but i wouldnt do it around a newborn. 

[Nicole730]

These conversations always make me laugh a little because here a bunch of us are not wanting to vaccinate our OTHER children when there is a newborn in the house and plenty of people don't even bat an eye at vaccinating an actual newborn. 

[butterfly_mommy]

Originally Posted by Nicole730 

These conversations always make me laugh a little because here a bunch of us are not wanting to vaccinate our OTHER children when there is a newborn in the house and plenty of people don't even bat an eye at vaccinating an actual newborn. 

So true Nicole.

I was considering vaxing DS because he starts kindergarten in September but it just didn't sit right with me being pregnant and stuff. The only thing I was really concerned about was pertussis but considering that that is one of the least effective vaccines and I will be nursing new babe it didn't feel worth it to take the chance. I would never vax a newborn, totally freaks me out. So I guess we will continue to be a non-vaxing family for the time being. 

There was a boy in DS' preschool who's brother had chicken -pox about a month or so ago and I was really hoping that if the boy got it DS would get it too but he didn't. I didn't get chicken pox till I was 15, it did kinda suck but still the worst was only about a week or so with the most yucky part lasting a few days. I hope DS gets it before then but now not for a few years till new babe is older :)

[3surfboys]

So after talking with my midwife (who I trust 100% and who has helped me birth my last 2 boys), her opinion is that I am not at risk for problems if my son gets vaccinated now while I'm pregnant - and she asked me to consider if my son were to have an illness from the vaccines then would I rather care for him now in the last several weeks of my pregnancy or when I have 1 month old to care for (whose dispostion I won't know until I meet her).  She feels it makes sense to get the boys required appointments out of the way (my oldest has to have a vax for 6th grade also), so then when I have a newborn, I'm not dragging 3 or 4 kids to the ped office. Honestly, I hadn't even considered taking care of a sick child with a shed virus from a vaccine, how sad is that :(  

I have an appt with the ped tomorrow for my 9yo and after speaking with him, I will most like go ahead get the boys vaccinated.